Photograph by Kathy De La Torre
Prospect High School students (left to right) Ryan Sainsbury, Mike Chance, Chris Haynes and Neal Valera were finalists in the 'Got Milk' commercial competition.
Film by local teens finalist in 'Got Milk?'
By Rebecca Ray
Because a first-grade class at Latimer Elementary School in San Jose was deprived of milk, four Prospect High School students placed second in the California Milk Processor Board "Got Milk? Home Video Commercial Contest" for teenagers.
The high school students, junior Mike Chance and seniors Chris Haynes, Ryan Sainsbury and Neal Valera, filmed the nine first-graders and their teacher, Dottie Haas, for the commercial they entered in the statewide contest. More than 100 groups of 13-to-18-year-olds entered the contest.
The 90-second commercial is called "Snack Time." It opens with Haas telling the class that it's break time for cookies and milk. As the camera pans the classroom, the children wolf down the treats. When Haas starts to pour glasses of milk, only a drizzle comes out of the carton. As the "Excalibur" theme song plays in the background, the children turn into zombies. The video spot ends with the "Got Milk?" slate.
"It's an honor, I guess, to know that your video was better than over 100 others, and that always feels good," Haynes, 17, of San Jose, said. "Plus, it looks good on your college applications."
The California Milk Processor Board awarded the Prospect students and third-place winners "Got Milk?" merchandise and a trip to the next "Got Milk?" ad shoot. The winner of the grand prize--a camcorder--was "Udder Letdown," which featured teens downing "milk shots" at a house party, then leaving when the hosts run out of milk. Visitors to the "Got Milk?" website can see the winning commercial.
All three finalists received $200 savings bonds for college. The panel of judges included Jeff Manning, executive director of the California Milk Processor Board, and actors Alexis Cruz from "Touched by an Angel" and Craig Lamar Traylor from "Malcolm in the Middle." They judged the entries on how creatively the commercials expressed "milk deprivation."
"This has been a real lesson that we got this far," Chance, 17, of San Jose, said.
Amazingly, Chance and his co-producers only had three days to make the video, after the teacher of their multimedia class, Ron Garcia, told them about the contest. The idea for the story was born when Chance and his father were watching a children's documentary, and Chance's father said he thought it would be funny to use children in the commercial.
After Chance and his friends created the story board overnight, they met with Bill Johnston, the principal at Latimer, where Chance used to attend, and asked if they could use Latimer students to film the commercial. Johnston introduced them to Haas, who arranged for releases to film the first-graders.
The filming of Haas and her students took about an hour and a half, during lunch and sixth period. After the Prospect students arrived back at their school, they edited the film for about 3 1/2 hours, using Napster to download "Excalibur," the theme from the movie Kindergarten Cop and sound effects--explosions, a moan and milk dripping into a pan.
"They got right into making it, both humorously and technically," Garcia said. He added that the students adjusted video speed to match music beats and noises perfectly.
Although this is only the first video contest any of them have entered, Haynes and Sainsbury, 18, who live in Saratoga, said they thought they had a chance of winning. Valera, 17, who is from San Jose, said he thought they would at least make the top 10, while Chance thought they would at least make the top 20.
Sainsbury and Valera said that placing second makes them want to produce more videos and enter more contests. According to Garcia, the four students plan to enter the annual Videomaker Magazine Contest and nationwide Videographer Awards Contest in Arlington, Texas, in the kindergarten- through-12th-grade category. The Videographer Awards will announce the winners in March or April.
Chance, Haynes, Sainsbury and Valera have taken the multimedia class at Prospect for two years and worked together on various projects, such as commercials and short movies. The class is part of Prospect's career pathway program and is geared toward students who are considering careers in multimedia. This summer, Chance, Haynes, Sainsbury and Valera plan to make a one-hour film.
Chance said he hopes to attend UC-Berkeley in two years and become a director. Next year, Valera plans to study multimedia or business at West Valley College. Although Sainsbury plans to major in business at West Valley and Haynes plans to become a network administrator, both of them are considering a minor in multimedia.
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